


What The Future Holds

by sunnylil



Series: A Place To Feel At Home [4]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Domestic Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, M/M, Parents Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-17 17:58:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16979223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnylil/pseuds/sunnylil
Summary: Just a glimpse into the life of the Gallagher-Milkovich-Andersen household.“I don’t give a fuck if I’m legally your guardian or not, you may age out of the system but you don’t age out of this family.”





	1. Chapter 1

“Aye, Mick, if you kick me one more time you can get your massage somewhere else.”

“Aye, Ian, if you comment how unrealistic that stupid show is one more time, I’m gonna turn it off,” Mickey mocks in response, “Ow, fuck, that hurt you fucking moron.”

Ian grins, while his fingers dig into the muscles of Mickey’s shoulder. “It’s supposed to hurt. What the fuck did you _do_ , Mick?”

“Work.”

Ian shakes his head and focuses back on the TV, where an episode of _The Night Shift_ is causing him to blurt out comments like _If they really did that, he’d be dead_ or _there’s no way they were able to save them_ which causes Mickey to kick his leg in annoyance.

Ian likes Saturday evenings. Well, not Saturday evenings per se, but Saturday evenings where’s he’s off work at six and Mickey’s not working overtime and Yev’s at Svetlana’s and Hailey’s working at the pizza place a couple of blocks down. And for a few hours, sometimes just half an hour, he gets to be _Ian._ Not Dad, not medical technician Gallagher, just _Ian_ who happens to be madly in love with his husband. Evenings like this don’t happen often, even though Ian doesn’t work graveyard shifts anymore. That’s why they established _Date Night,_ which is really just a fancy word for scheduled sex. But this isn’t date night and they’re both way to exhausted from work to even consider other physical activities. So it’s just them, it’s just the couch and an unrealistic medical drama, it’s just cuddling and it’s pretty fucking perfect.

“Is it getting better?” Ian eventually asks, his hands still kneading Mickey’s muscles. The older one hums in response, his head leaning against Ian’s chest.

“Thanks,” Mickey cranes his neck to kiss him.

“What’s my reward? My feet are really hurting.”

They hear the front door open and Mickey settles for a clear gesture instead of a verbal answer.

Hailey slumps down in the arm chair, still wearing her work uniform under her jacket.

“You look like shit,” Mickey informs her with a quirked eyebrow.

Their foster daughter shakes her head.

“Just tired. What are you watching?”

“Some medical shit so Mr. EMT can be a smartass.”

Ian rolls his eyes. “Did you eat?”

Hailey nods.

“Did you start with those scholarship essays we’ve talked about? I could go over them tomorrow after work, if you want.”

“No, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve been at work all day.”

“Aye, no need to get all bitchy, he was just asking.”

“He’s been asking about those stupid essays almost every day for weeks. It’s fucking annoying. I’ll write them when I write them!” Hailey shrugs out of her jacket.

“Excuse me for caring,” Ian scoffs, “The deadline for four of them is by the end of the month.”

“So what? It’s not like a $1000 scholarship is gonna do _anything_.”

“So what? Fucking nothing. You’re the one who wants to become an architect, if you don’t want to, then don’t. But it’s not like you got a fortune lying around to pay for college without a scholarship.”

“Ever heard of a fucking student loan? Of course you didn’t. Neither of you even have a diploma!”

“Yeah, ever thought about why?”

Hailey doesn’t know every single thing about their past. But she’s been living with them for almost two years, she knows the essentials. She knows about Ian’s army stint and that Mickey dropped out of school before he turned eighteen.

For a moment she holds Ian’s gaze before stomping into her room with a frustrated “Stop trying to compensate your fucked up life choices by interfering with my life. Just leave me the fuck alone.”

The mood in the Gallagher-Milkovich-Andersen household isn’t the best over the next couple of days. Hailey’s almost as good at giving the chin as Ian and when they both do it, it’s the worst. Yevgeny comes back from Svet’s at Sunday night and stumbles right into the second cold war. At least it feels like it.

“What’s going on between you and Hailey?” he asks Ian when his dad comes to say goodnight the second night he’s back.

“We had a fight and we’re both upset.”

“What did you fight about?”

Ian sighs and brushes a curl out of Yevgeny’s face. The boy looks at him, biting his lower lip in concern.

“College. Scholarships. That stuff.”

“I don’t want Hailey to go to college.”

“Yev, we talked about this. Hailey’s mom is getting out of prison in the summer. Hailey’s probably going to move back in with her, even if she doesn’t go to college. But it’s not like she’s going to forget about us.”

“But what if she does?”

“I’m pretty sure no one can forget about a boy like you, Yevy,” he smiles, “But if you’re worried about it, talk to her. Tomorrow. Now it’s time to sleep.”

“You gotta talk to her, too, Dad. Tell her that you’re upset. She’s gonna apologize.”

“I will, eventually. Don’t worry about it, champ. Good night.”

Ian closes Yevgeny’s bedroom door as quietly as possible and when he turns around he almost has a heart attack. Mickey and Hailey are sitting at the kitchen table. It’s a miracle that their gazes haven’t pierced through his body.

“You two had your pouting period, so you could just spit out what the fuck’s bothering you so we can get back to the normal programming?”

Mickey’s arms are crossed in front of his chest and he looks like he’s about to murder someone. Ian isn’t sure who’s going to be the victim.

“And before you start,” he adds, a finger pointing at Ian, “Remember that you’re the one who’s supposed to act mature.”

Ian sighs and closes his eyes for a second. Maybe he did forget about that. It’s not like he’s been ignoring Hailey but he hasn’t been exactly talkative either. When he opens them, he tries to see the whole thing through Hailey’s eyes. Having too many choices can be fucking scary; he’s learned that from Lip, because there’s no one that can tell you for sure which one ‘s the right one. Feeling like you _have_ to do something can be, too.

“Did you change your mind? Do you still want to go to college? Because it’s totally fine if you don’t.”

Hailey bites the nail of her thumb before she answers.

“I still want to go. I just don’t know what to write about. These questions are fucking stupid. ‘Discuss a special attribute or accomplishment that sets you apart’ like what the fuck? How should I know? I don’t know what person I admire or some shit. I just want to become an architect and my mom’s piss poor so that’s why I need a fucking scholarship. Isn’t that enough?”

Her eyes are glistening with rage by now.

“Why am I only allowed to go to college if I’m special? That’s bullshit.”

“Yeah. It is.”

“Isn’t one of those questions what social problem you’d like to solve and why? You just kinda answered that one.” Mickey’s murderous glare has vanished.

Hailey stares at him for a second, not saying anything.

“Okay,” Ian leans forward, his forearms on the table, “I get why that’s overwhelming. We can try to solve that together. You do understand why I was pissed, though, right?”

“Yeah,” Hailey mutters, “I’m sorry I said that shit. Didn’t really mean it.”

“So you two good now? No more chinny-shit?”

Ian snorts. “I’m good.”

Hailey looks up, Ian offers her a smile.

“Yeah, I’m good, too.”

“Fucking great. Now I need a beer. So we gonna start with those bullshit questions tonight or what?”

* * *

 

The college acceptance comes first. It’s one of the first warm days in Chicago and everybody seems to be in a good mood. Ian picks Yevgeny up from soccer practice after work and they burst out into an impromptu _I just can’t wait to be king_ duet on the way home from the El stop.

Yevgeny bursts through the door yelling “No one saying do this – No one saying do that” and Ian almost runs into him when he stops in front of the kitchen table.

Then he sees Hailey. And he isn’t in the mood to sing anymore.

“Yev go to your room.”

“But –“

“Go!”

Her eyes are rimmed red, but Ian can’t see any actual tears, not anymore. She’s sitting at the table, hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans.

“Hailey…”

Eyelevel. He crouches down next to her, steadying himself with one hand gripping the table.

“Did something happen?”

She looks at him as if she hasn’t noticed his appearance, blinks at him as if he’s a ghost. Then she shoves the piece of paper towards him. Ian takes it and reads the first few words.

“Are … Are those happy tears?”

She shrugs. Her voice is raspy.

“I never actually thought I’d get in. I mean – a bunch of other places rejected me…”

“But you did,” he smiles. He wants to hug her, dance through the room with her, because _holy shit_ – but it doesn’t feel right.

“How am I supposed to come up with ten grand?” Her lip trembles and Ian wants to punch something. He hugs her instead.

“Hey, hey… Let’s do one thing at a time, all right? You got accepted into college, Hailey. That’s huge. And we’re gonna figure something out. You still haven’t heard back from every scholarship right? The foster one’s still open, hmm?”

“We?” Hailey chokes. “What are you talking about? I’m turning eighteen in less than two months.”

“Yes, we,” Ian responds firmly, “I don’t give a fuck if I’m legally your guardian or not, you may age out of the system but you don’t age out of this family.”

Hailey’s full on sobbing by now.

“God damnit Hailey,” Ian says softly, “You’re family. Of course you are.”

“I know – I know what,” she loosens her grip around his shoulders and wipes her tears away, “I’m just – I don’t know. That shit’s scary as fuck. And I still haven’t told my mom that I’m planning on going to college. She still thinks that I’m moving back in.”

Ian sits down on the chair next to her and squeezes her hand.

“You should tell her.”

“I will. I just wanted to wait or something. I don’t know.” She shrugs.

After a moment of silence, Ian smiles.

“Congratulations. I’m gonna call Mick, he’s gotta bring some cake. We need to celebrate, right?”

And finally, Hailey smiles, too. “Chocolate?”

“What kind of question even is that?”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the love xx

Ian grimaces in front of the mirror.

“I feel overdressed.”

Mickey’s head appears next to him in the mirror. He’s wearing a black dress shirt and jeans.

“You look good.”

“I’m ditching the tie.”

“Do what you want but hurry, we’re running late.” He leaves the bathroom again, yelling for Yevgeny. When Ian comes into the living room a minute later, he finds an half-dressed Yevgeny and a frustrated Mickey.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not going!”

“Yes, you fucking are! It’s Hailey’s graduation. She wants you to be there. We talked about this!” Mickey rubs his hand over his mouth.

“I’m not going!” Yevgeny stomps his foot on the ground and crosses his arms in front of his bare chest.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want her to leave. Graduating High School means leaving for college, so if I don’t go, it won’t happen.”

“You know shit doesn’t work like that, buddy,” Mickey sighs.

“She’s not leaving for another two months, all right? Please, Yev. We’re running late and she really wants us to be there.”

“Or don’t. But don’t think we won’t go celebrate without you. And I’m gonna order the biggest chocolate-chip milkshake they have and send you a picture.”

Yevgeny glares at Mickey for a moment but apparently his approach’s worked, because he goes to his room to get dressed.

 

* * *

 

They go to a diner to celebrate after and Yevgeny doesn’t leave Hailey’s side for one minute.

“So that’s over, then,” Ian grins at her over his double-cheeseburger.

“Finally,” she rolls her eyes, “Two months of freedom.”

“Except for work.”

“And babysitting Yev.”

“And I was planning on cleaning out the attic, thought you might help me.”

“You two are the worst,” she shakes her head, groaning, “Let me at least dream about it for a while, okay? I mean, Tommy is backpacking through Europe. So at least let me pretend that I have _free time_.”

“You’re not going to be working all the time, are you?” Yevgeny stops mid-chew and looks at her with pleading eyes.

“Not all the time, Yevy.” Hailey ruffles his hair. “Got enough time to beat your ass at _Mario Kart._ ”

“And you promised to take me and Dominick to the Water Park. I mean, we need to do lots of stuff. Who knows when we will see each other again?”

Ian’s heart clenches at the panicked expression on Yevgeny’s face. Hailey’s mom will be released from prison one month before Hailey’s leaving for college. Since she probably needs some time to get back on her feet, Hailey will be staying with Ian and Mickey anyway, although she isn’t a minor anymore. A lot will change over the summer and Yevgeny isn’t the only one thinking about it.

“Oh right, well, I intend to keep my promises.”

When Hailey takes a call a few minutes later and Yevgeny happily slurps his chocolate-chip milkshake, Ian catches Mickey watching her through the diner’s glass front.

“Who would have thought that being in foster care would get her a free ride to college? That’s some next level shit.”

Hailey comes back before Ian can say anything.

“There’s a house party at Suelita’s. Is it all right with you if I go?”

Yevgeny whines in protest, but Ian cuts him off with a pointed look.

“Give me a call when you want get home. Don’t take the L on your own in the middle of the night.”

“Have fun!”

As soon as Hailey left the restaurant, Mickey turns to his son.

“Seriously, you need to stop with the clingy shit. It annoys the fuck out of me and it doesn’t change shit, all right? Remember how we talked about the fact that you have two families, too? You have us,” he gestures between himself and Ian, “and your mom, Alyona and your little brother. Sometimes I feel like you don’t even _like_ Motya.”

“He’s a baby,” Yevgeny shrugs, “He can’t do anything. He’s boring.”

Mickey’s mouth twitches. “Fair enough.”

“What your Pop is trying to say,” Ian interferes, “You don’t stop loving people just because you’re not living with them anymore.”

“Yeah, but Hailey’s not family. Not by blood. That’s different.”

“I’m not family by blood either, Yevgeny. Doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

The boy groans exaggerated. “But I’m gonna miss her!”

Ian sighs. He doesn’t have a counter argument for that. “Yeah, champ. We’re all gonna miss her. But we can still skype, and she’s gonna visit.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Shut it, Yev. Of course we fucking don’t. But whining and clinging isn’t helping in the slightest.”

“Just try to enjoy the time with her, all right? Try not to think about the end of the summer too much.”

“I’ll try.”

 

* * *

 

“I can’t believe I went to a fucking graduation ceremony today. What the fuck happened to my life?” Mickey shakes his head, while taking the laundry from the drying rack.

“You need to get your hands on some coke to feel like yourself again?”

Mickey flips him off. “Actually I was thinking about paying the shooting range a visit. Been a while.”

“What about taking Yev? Have you talked about Svetlana?”

“Fuck no. I want the action, not just watch him. I’m gonna teach him someday and if she’s got a problem with our son being able to defend himself she’s got a problem with me.”

“We could go together.”

His husband glances at him, snorting. “You think you could keep it in your pants long enough to actually get some shooting done?”

Ian smirks. “Guess we’d have to find out.”

“All right,” Mickey wets his lips, “You got your schedule for June already? I’m gonna book it later.”

 

* * *

 

It’s in the middle of the night. Ian’s alarm clock shows 2:30. Mickey’s moving.

“What’s going on?”

Nightmare. That’s his first thought. But Mickey isn’t shaking or panting. Instead he’s running a hand through Ian’s hair.

“I’ve picked up Hailey. Everything’s fine. Go back to sleep.”

“She ok?”

“Almost threw up in my car. She’s pretty smashed,” Ian can hear Mickey’s grin, “But she’s gonna be all right.”

 “Graduating High School is a pretty good reason to get smashed.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Ian snorts. “So that’s that. Helping Hailey to graduate High School: Check.”

“Yeah.” Mickey turns his head to look at him and waits.

“I’m going to miss her.”

“It’s not like she’s dying. Or leaving the country.”

“I know. Still going to be weird.”

“Yeah.”

Ian feels Mickey’s lips touching his forehead.

“It’s going to be ok, though.”

 


End file.
